Homily Notes for Pentecost, May 27, 2007

These notes are the same as my bulletin letter but are thoughts that will be developed in the homily on Sunday. As we celebrate Pentecost, we also celebrate Memorial Day and remember those who gave their lives for their country. With the theme of story and continuing story, we honor their stories and also ask, "What is the point?" What is the moral of their story and how do we continue it?
Someone who comes to me for Spiritual Direction recently gave me the gift of a book by Joel ben Izzy, a storyteller who woke from surgery unable to speak. (The title of the book is The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness.) His story, at least in its beginning, was like mine. The nerve to his vocal chord had been permanently damaged. After months of depression, he met his old teacher who asked him to tell his story. When Joel described what had happened his teacher challenged him to finish the story. “What’s the point of the story?” the teacher asked. “There isn’t a story until you have a moral.” What is the gift in your losing your voice? The teacher challenged him to seek the meaning in what had happened to him. The book is a collection of stories intermingled with his own story of searching. I haven‘t finished the book yet. So I can’t tell you how it ends. But that’s Joel’s story. The challenge of the book for me is to continue writing my own story.
The book is meaningful to me for obvious reasons. I think it is also relevant to the feast we celebrate today. Pentecost was a Jewish feast connected with agricultural cycles. It became a Christian feast when the Holy Spirit came down. In one sense, it was a moment in a continuing story. As I mentioned last week, there is a cycle of going out and returning, descending and ascending, finding meaning and returning to share it. Pentecost is a moment in that cycle. Jesus ascended. The disciples waited. The Spirit came upon them. They went out. The Gospel story continued in their lives. The book of Scripture called the Acts of the Apostles is the beginning of that story. It is volume two in a two-volume work. The first volume was the Gospel of Luke. And the story is not ended. Volumes III, IV, V and… are still being written.
What is the point? The story is continuing in our living out the mystery of the Incarnation, of God’s Son becoming flesh and blood. Christ continues to be born in us. We become little Christs. The Spirit continues to be poured out. We continue to go out. Our individual stories are part of a much larger story. As we tell our stories, we realize that they aren’t over. They are moving toward an end, a meaning. What is the ending? The teacher, Lenny, tells Joel to start talking, continue talking and the ending will find you.
Good advice. Continue talking. Continue going out. Continue trying to be a little Christ. Continue telling your story and continue living it. The ending will find you. And it will be a beautiful ending because it is God’s Spirit breathing life into you and your story.